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Son of Dead Sea Scrolls Scholar Faces Jail Time for Impersonating Father's Critic

  • Carrie Dedrick Religious persecution, missions, Christianity around the world
  • Updated Jul 16, 2014

The son of a Dead Sea Scrolls scholar will serve jail time for impersonating his father’s critics online. Raphael Golb allegedly sent false e-mails under the name of another scholar admitting he plagiarized his work and wrote fake blog posts; Golb is being charged with criminal impersonation, forgery and harassment. 

The online harassment occurred in 2009 when Golb impersonated New York University scholar Lawrence Schiffman. Golb was sentenced first in 2011 but appealed the conviction, stating that his false accounts were intended as a parody of Schiffman. The New York State Supreme Court has now upheld 29 of the 30 convictions from the 2011 sentencing. 

Raphael Golb is the son of Norman Golb. He is to serve two months in jail beginning July 22, followed by three years’ probation. 

Publication date: July 16, 2014